New NBA league in Europe without Euroleague!

The dream of joint cooperation between American and European basketball has officially ended and from 2027 we will see two competing leagues on the European continent.

According to Sports Three, after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the EuroLeague rejected the offer of cooperation offered by the NBA to hold a joint league. On the other hand, NBA officials also announced that they will start the NBA Europe project "whether with or without an agreement" from 2027.

In an interview with Eurohoops, Giorgos Ayvazaoglu, the NBA's senior manager for Europe and the Middle East, revealed the details of the league. According to his announcement, NBA Europe will start from the 2027-28 season with the participation of 16 teams. The structure of this league includes 12 permanent franchise quotas for big and wealthy clubs and 4 open quotas that reach teams through the European Basketball Champions League (BCL) and domestic leagues.

Ayvazoglu emphasized that this project is going forward in direct cooperation with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and its goal is to create an economically sustainable ecosystem similar to the NBA in Europe. It is said that cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Istanbul are among the main destinations of this league, and several investors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also expressed interest in buying a franchise.

On the other hand, the heads of the Euroleague consider this action of the NBA as a threat to the European basketball pyramid and believe that the entry of a closed American league will destroy the promotion and relegation system and the European club tradition. They are trying to convince clubs to stay by unveiling their 3.4 billion euro plan.

In this way, European basketball enters the most sensitive period of its history. On the one hand, the Euroleague with a 25-year history and passionate fans, and on the other hand, the NBA with its infinite financial power and global brand. The winner of this battle will determine the future of world club basketball.